Avery Hutchins was promoted to station manager for WCTE in Cookeville, Tenn.
Hutchins joined the station in 2011 as a sales manager and was also director of advancement. She most recently worked as director of development and marketing.
Hutchins has also served on several national committees, including the PBS Kids Advisory Board, the PBS Development Advisory Committee, the PBS Children’s Media and Education Station Leadership Committee and the PBS Early Childhood Education Development Strategies Working Group.
“As the Director of Development and Marketing, [Hutchins] led our team to substantially increase our revenue streams, and her service on multiple PBS groups and committees continues to bring our small rural station voice to the national conversation,” said WCTE CEO Becky Magura. “Avery’s can-do attitude, dedication to excellence in public media, and service to our viewers will make her an outstanding Station Manager!”
88Nine Radio Milwaukee announced three promotions.
Jordan Lee was promoted to station director. Lee joined the station in 2008 as a morning show host and events coordinator. He became assistant PD in 2009 and was promoted to PD in 2015. Lee is also EP for Rhythm Lab Radio.
Dori Zori will replace Lee as PD. Zori co-hosted the station’s morning show with Lee from 2012–14. She became the sole morning show host in 2015 and was promoted to assistant PD in 2019. Zori will continue to host the morning show and is in charge of revamping Sunday programming.
“Sunday evenings on 88Nine will now feature six hours of speciality programming focused on music discovery and storytelling,” Zori said in a news release. “I am especially excited about the addition of Carmel Holt’s program Sheroes, which focuses on female voices in the music industry.”
As part of the changes, Justin Barney will step in for Zori and become assistant PD and afternoon host. Barney joined the station in 2013 as an intern and became music director in 2015.
Legal
Derek Teslik was elected partner for Gray Miller Persh LLP, a law firm that specializes in public and educational broadcasting. Teslik joined the firm in 2018. He previously worked for Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP, Cooley LLP and Dow Lohnes PLLC.
Content
Sumi Aggarwal was promoted to managing editor for Reveal, from the Center for Investigative Reporting. She will also work as interim editor-in-chief when Matt Thompson leaves the organization next month to join The New York Times. Aggarwal joined Reveal in 2019 as head of collaborations. She previously worked as communications manager for Google, a producer for 60 Minutes and a booking producer for NBC’s Today. In addition, Nina Martin is joining Reveal as a features editor next month. Martin is currently a reporter for ProPublica. She previously worked as an articles editor and executive editor for San Francisco, a magazine.
Karen Rouse was promoted to newsroom editor for WNYC in New York City. Rouse joined the station in 2014 as a reporter. She previously worked as a reporter for several newspapers, including the Denver Post, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Bergen Record and the Press of Atlantic City. Rouse was a 2020 Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan, where she researched strategies for diversifying newsroom leadership and management.
Ariel Van Cleave announced that she is leaving her position as news director for Aspen Public Radio in Colorado to rejoin WBEZ in Chicago as senior editor of audio news, a title she previously held in 2019–20, according to a spokesperson. Van Cleave joined the Colorado station last year. “It’s been an incredible honor working with the news team here, but Chicago is calling me home,” Van Cleave said on Twitter.
Obed Manuel announced that he was hired to become an audience editor for Colorado Public Radio. “I’ll be working with the newsroom and focus on making the news more accessible to communities of color and other under-served populations,” Manuel said on Twitter. Manuel most recently worked as a staff writer for the Dallas Morning News. He was also an associate editor for Central Track, an online media organization in Dallas.
Micah Schweizer, cultural affairs and production director for Wyoming Public Media, announced that he is leaving the station this month to become head of communications for Crowther Lab, a climate-focused organization based at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. Schweizer joined the station in 2013.
Vicki Gonzalez was hired to host the morning show Insight, produced by CapRadio in Sacramento, Calif. She will replace Beth Ruyak, who left the station last year. Gonzalez most recently worked as a reporter for KCRA, an NBC affiliate in Sacramento. She has also been a reporter for KSNV, an NBC affiliate in Las Vegas. Randol White, who was interim host of Insight during the transition, will become an afternoon anchor and editor.
Daniella Cheslow announced that she is leaving her job as a reporter for WAMU in Washington, D.C., to join Agence France-Presse, a global news agency. Cheslow will report from AFP’s Jerusalem bureau. Cheslow joined WAMU in 2019 after working as an editor and reporter for NPR. She has also reported from Jerusalem for the Associated Press and McClatchy.
Governance
Rick Steves, host of the public television program Rick Steves’ Europe, was elected board chair for NORML, an organization that advocates for the legalization of marijuana. In a news release, Steves said, “2021 could be the year we deliver the final blow to our nation’s decades-long failed policy of treating marijuana consumers like criminals.” Steves has been a vocal advocate for legalization in recent years.
Communications
Samantha LaRussa was hired as a digital marketing assistant for PBS Reno in Nevada. LaRussa, a 2020 graduate of the University of Nevada Reno, most recently worked as social media marketing manager for the Vault Salon. She was also an intern for the Nevada Small Business Development Center.
Send news of “comings and goings” to [email protected]